PirmaPinas was created from absence. From the lack of Visayan representation.
From scripts that are rooted deep in Filipino heritage — yet remain unseen.
Meet the Artist
Aster Sapayla is a Filipino artist and the creative head behind PirmaPinas.
Born in Baybay, Leyte, his artistic journey began as a tattoo artist and led him to explore Filipino identity, visual culture, and pre-colonial scripts. He is currently based in Davao City.
Motivation
Aster’s journey as a tattoo artist shaped his understanding of symbols as carriers of meaning and identity. This led him to research pre-colonial Filipino visual languages, including Baybayin and Badlit, the traditional Visayan script.
PirmaPinas was born from this exploration. The brand is dedicated to making ancient Filipino scripts visible again, with a strong focus on Badlit, a pre-colonial writing system now preserved by only a few advocates.
Each design is created with intention. A modern expression of Filipino identity and cultural authorship.